Blanking isn’t the greatest part of fly fishing but it happens to us all. We might think it was ‘just one of those days’ but maybe there are other factors at play such as weather conditions. Does the weather affect the trouts feeding habits? We all know sun isn’t good and rain can liven things up but can storm fronts make trout stop feeding and does an easterly wind mean no fish? In an attempt to look for answers I’m going to post little bits of info I find here. To start with, here’s an old fishing proverb that offers a few clues…
Wind from the West, fish bite the best.
Wind from the East, fish bite the least.
Wind from the North, do not go forth.
Wind from the South blows bait in their mouth.
So it could be that temperature is the main issue and so North and East winds are cold and often quite server and South and West winds are warm and predominately where most of our weather patterns come from. I’ve heard that a change it weather pattern can put fish off so maybe if most of our weather is westerly and then we get a sudden change to a cold easterly then that can put fish off feeding. Maybe.
And then theres the dreaded ‘thermoclines‘. The way the wind reacts with the water to move bands of different temperatures around in the water column. Theres some info here on trout and thermaclines on page 64.
Update: on our recent trip to Eyebrook in Northamptonshire, the reservoir had days of strong westerly winds prior to our arrival. The fish were feeding hard mostly on the east bank (Dam and Three Willows) which would have been the downwind bank for most of the week. Buzzers were catching strongly. Certainly at this time of year (Spring), it would seem the fish congregate on the downwind sides, keeping fairly close into the banks (where the hatching food is) but also close to a drop-off.